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Apathy and the Modern Self: the Afflictions of Modernity and Orientation Toward the Good

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Apathy and the Modern Self: the Afflictions of Modernity and Orientation Toward the Good APATHY AND THE MODERN SELF: THE AFFLICTIONS OF MODERNITY AND ORIENTATION TOWARD THE GOOD By Aaron C. Pingree Master of Arts University of Waterloo 2006 Bachelor of Arts (Hons) University of Waterloo 2004 A dissertation presented to Ryerson University and York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Program of Communication and Culture Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2013 ©Aaron C. Pingree 2013 AUTHOR'S DECLARATION FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF A DISSERTATION I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this dissertation. This is a true copy of the dissertation, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I authorize Ryerson University to lend this dissertation to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this dissertation by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I understand that my dissertation may be made electronically available to the public. ii Apathy and the Modern Self: The Afflictions of Modernity and Orientation Toward the Good. PhD 2013 Aaron C. Pingree, Communication and Culture, Ryerson University and York University ABSTRACT Research to date on apathy has been limited to the technical spheres of politics, pedagogy, mass media, and business. Contrary to apathy’s characterization in recent scholarship, this work claims that apathy cannot be understood in terms of a decline in political engagement alone. Through a history of the idea of apathy beginning with the Stoic concept of apatheia, this work locates apathy in the epochal shift in epistemology and subjectivity which occurred between antiquity and modernity, and claims that apathy is a philosophical (rather than political) problem. Guiding research questions include: what allowed for the possibility of modern apathy, and what means might we have at our disposal to address apathy? Rather than treating symptoms, I argue that any response to apathy must engage with its epochal grounding conditions, and so rather than suggesting policy reforms or new legislation, I assess problems accompanying modern subjectivity and epistemology, and the place of the Good under modernity. This project also participates in the longstanding debate concerning the possibility of uniting sense and reason, a problem known in antiquity and addressed by communication theorists and Romantic poets. I argue that the commingling of sense and reason is another way of describing openness to an encounter with the Good, and under modernity such commingling might result from aesthetic exercises. iii I consider McLuhan and Foucault thinkers whose work can be read as a form of áskēsis that extends the ancient philosophical tradition into modernity in order to encourage spiritual work in the present. Through readings of McLuhan and Foucault’s engagement with antiquity, I then suggest that aesthetic exercises arising out of the modern milieu may offer a response to apathy and its grounding epistemological and subjective conditions. This work attempts to broaden the contemporary understanding of apathy, and to reconnect the discourse on apathy to its grounding conditions – subjective and epistemological sunderings which have been intensified and normalized under modernity. This broadening and reconnection demand that apathy is understood in a more complete way, not simply in terms of its immediate consequences for the technological society. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There is no way to adequately thank everyone who supported me during this process, but certain people deserve special mention. I extend a heartfelt thanks to friends and family for tolerating me during what was at times a rather isolating process. Without the loving support of my parents, my incredible brother Jay (who continues to be an inspiration), my grandparents, and the patience and encouragement of my wonderful girlfriend Stef, I would surely have faltered. During my time at Ryerson and York, I have been privileged to work with some extraordinary individuals to whom I owe a great deal. Special thanks go to Steve Bailey of York University for fruitful and provocative discussions in coffee shops, and for a hearty helping of insightful criticisms, good advice and humour. Steve brought his keen acumen to bear on my work, and challenged me to explore alternate perspectives. Additional special thanks go to Betty Trott of Ryerson University for swooping in and agreeing to sit on my committee at the last moment. Betty offered many thoughtful criticisms and was always happy to sit and chat about anything and everything, from philosophy, film, pedagogy, and family, to the etymology of surnames. Her passion and enthusiasm for philosophy are contagious. Gary Genosko of UOIT performed a very careful and detailed reading of my work, offered a most thoughtful commentary, and did not shy away from posing many deep, provocative, and penetrating questions. For that I sincerely thank him. I am also greatly appreciative of Robert Murray and Martin Antony of Ryerson University for ensuring an engaging and lively defense. v I am grateful to Paul Moore, Ryerson University Communication and Culture program director, for his strong support and generous spirit, and to Jo Ann Mackie for helping me to navigate the program, for putting up with my ineptitude regarding paperwork and deadlines, and for offering a great deal of helpful advice and a friendly ear. Thanks also go to Stuart Murray of Carleton University, for reading an early draft and offering some helpful suggestions. I owe a tremendous debt to Stan Fögel, Sylvia Wray, and Carl Draksler, teachers and friends without whom the direction of my life would have been very different. Finally, I would like to extend tremendous gratitude to my supervisor, Bruce Elder, who I saddled with a number of bungling early drafts (of which I’m still mortified), and whose patience, guidance, demand for rigor, and wisdom saw me through the dissertation process, and encouraged me to grow as a scholar and as a person. Bruce has helped to rekindle my faith that there are those who still resist the carelessness of our times. If one day I am even marginally as inspiring a teacher and as profound and provocative a thinker as Bruce, I will be content. vi DEDICATION For Gran. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1 – ANCIENT APATHEIA AND ÁSKĒSIS ......................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 2 – ANCIENT PROGRESS: PERSONAL AND SPIRITUAL MOVEMENT ................. 54 CHAPTER 3 – MODERN PROGRESS: COLLECTIVE AND TECHNICAL MOVEMENT .......... 88 CHAPTER 4 – MODERN APATHY: A SELF NOT CARED FOR ................................................... 117 CHAPTER 5 – ART AND ESTRANGEMENT: MODERN ÁSKĒSIS AND THE REKINDLING OF AWE .......................................................................................................................................................... 149 CHAPTER 6 – THE GOOD, HARMONY, AND MODERNITY........................................................ 188 CHAPTER 7 – ÁSKĒSIS AND UNCERTAINTY................................................................................. 236 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................... 271 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................................... 280 viii Introduction From its inception, this project has grown considerably. My research and writing style is what Edward T. Hall describes as Dionysian – it evolves as I go. What began as a study strictly on manifestations of contemporary apathy has lead toward fundamental philosophical questions: how can we, who live in a disenchanted world, a world without a ground for authority, lead good and meaningful lives? What is the predominate form of self under modernity, and is such a self conducive to living a good life? If such a self is afflicted by problems that accompany a loss of authority or worldlessness, how might we address these issues? This work takes as its starting point the position (advanced by such thinkers as McLuhan, Foucault, Bury, and Ferry), that there has been an epochal, subjective shift from pre-modern to modern culture, and that according to (among others) Weber, Taylor, Arendt, and Grant, this is experienced as disenchantment, groundlessness, worldlessness, and a language of willing (rather than a language of Good). Granted, this is only an interpretation of history, but one which I feel carries the most weight. In the following pages I will use the term modernity to designate a period from roughly the sixteenth century to the present characterized by a shift in thought and subjectivity. While critiquing many of the consequences of modernity, I do celebrate its material benefits, its social benefits (including giving a voice to those “others” who have historically been relegated to the margins), and the possibilities opened up in the realm of thought (aesthetic exercise, objectivity which grants distance enough to engage in auto- critique, and an art that is shocking and creative rather than mimetic). 1 While ostensibly about apathy, this is really a project about the relationship
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